Nawangians
Introduction The Nawangians inhabit the nothern jungles of Apophis known as Nawanga. In the dense forests they rule over great monuments of stone and onyx. They bring fourth the greatest of all Aniter soliders and their divided empire represents the largest military power in the entire continent. History The early most history of the Nawangians has been lost over the ages. The only source telling the tale of their emergence is the Kurafei, the anitic book of legends. Its second book is dedicated to people of Nawanga and illustrates their view on the great city known as Mu Kabonga to them. How the sins of its people cast them out of its gates, and how the First Storm brought rain and lighting to destroy it and pull its remains in the newly born ocean. The Anit of old day, the inhabitants of Mu Kabonga, had lost all hope. Lost in the endless Tutafan desert they had no food, water or guiadance. The only thing that could save them was a wonder and in the blistering sunlight of the highest dunes one of them had vision. His name was Nasan, right hand of the great king Esharion. Looking high to the skies and into its three eyes, he saw a paradise unfolding. Far in the west lay a forest that called him, richt of water and fruit; even greater then the wonders of their lost cities. Following this vision he gathered the Anit and spoke of his vision. It was Esharion himself that raised his in the silence that followed. He convinced his people to follow Nasans vision. Nasan should proof worthy of his peoples trust. It took them 80 days and 80 nights to find a way out of the shere unending desert. From afar Nasan could glimpse on water running through the dry dunes. They arrived at an offshot of the mighty Ala Sut, the wet heart of the Stormplanes. As they travel northwards in search of its headwaters they reached the city of Tatoth, home to the Asak. The wisdom of these large reptiles impressed their king. Esharion wished to stay within their city and accept these creatures as their masters. This descision was not welcomed as much as he expected. The majority of the Anit wished to travel on as this could not be the paradise Nasans vision showed him. Esharion himself did not believe in Nasans prophecy. He was convinced a paradise like Mu Kabonga could not be found but must be created. Few favoured this idea over Nasans promise, as they grew trustful of his guidance during their exodus. The Second Sundering It was this event that became known as the Second Sundering ''in modern records. It was this time that the Anit where no more. They divided themselfes into the people that stayed with ''Esharion and became known as the Eshashin and those that followed Nasan and Hayad and became known as Aniter. Both of them wished to travel on in search of a befitting home. The Asak did not want to let them go however. They spoke of an ancient enemy that dwelled in the west; one they did not wish to give new prey to feast upon. Nasan believed this to be a fairytale the lizards made up to force them into slavedom. He managed to convince the majority of his people to ignore these warnings and continue their journey. As the Asak heared of this descision they cursed the Aniter. They should rather succumb to deciet and death then becoming the thralls of the great foe. Ignoring these words, the Aniter left the city of Tatoth. During this time, Nasan befriended Hayad, a famous prophet and philosopher among the Aniter ranks. Both of them lead their people west and served as the twincouncil guiding them. Their friendship should not last long however. Pratonian invasion (...) After a close victory against Atep himself Vvind raised his hold to the ground and plundered the rest of the city. Since Samesi and demons still roamed the ensuing ruins, he put a deathperil on the entering of Adai. After his final victory he moved to Suet and declared it Nawangas capital. After ruling the region for almost 80 years he abandoned the throne for his son Ak Vvrath Eriadon Lo. Vvrath ''began his rulership over his new kindom with coldhearted efficency. Although a tyrant in many ways, he never used violence without necessaity. Like his father he was teached in the arts of the Hementor was understood how to manipulate the minds of mortals to do his will. He became known as the builder of cities, using titanfire and the employment of countless slaves to carve routes in the jungle and erect new settlements in the previously impenetrable jungle. Despite these never ending focus upon the development of his county, he fought an constant war against the Samesi who where still working towards the corruption of his people. Either through martial prowess, an unnatural sense of premotion or shere luck he survived every assassination attempt. Yet, after almost 300 years of war in the shadows he grew paranoid. Not even the pratonian nobles where not safe from the executioners axe. Vvrath became so irrational his bodyguard killed him and took his place. He neither had legimitacy to his claim nor the support of the other nobles across Nawanga. For this reason he was soon replaced by a chain of other ''Ur until the Hementor of the east interviened. Through their influence in G´har Domun they managed to declare the Eriador of Nawanga rebels. With this justification they invaded the great jungle. Through fire and war they took Nawanga for themselfes, thus finalyzing their controll over all of Apophis. With the rising Samesi thread and the increasing resistence of the populace they Hementor launched a brutal campaign of opression across all of Nawanga. It was during this time of loyalties constantly shifting that the opressed Onya developed their own soceity in the shadows of conflict. While martial prowess was the best guarantee for ones survival many Onya turned towards the old anitic arts. Where they could not match their masters in strength or cunnning, they could in wisdom. Philosophers and prophets gained a high regard during this time, seeking ways of inner peace to endure the constant conflict. Omrons rebellion In the end it where still the nawangian warriors that set their people free. During the end of the Era of Light, an Ur known as Ak Thracor Hementor Bor took controll over the nawangian throne. It was soon revealed that Thracor was a Samesi that had corrupted the powerful noble. Yet through his unnatural skill in the arts of subterfuge and manipulation he managed to hold on to his territory even after revealing his true nature. In open display, the Samesi began to rule over Nawanga aswell. So great was their strength that their uncorrupted cousins did not dare to attack them. This was the point that the Nawangians refused to further serve their masters. At the nothern peaks of Ebonarm, the Habescori Omron rose to power. He was the first ruler of pratonian blood that had the full support of the nawangian people as he grew up among them. Gathering his warriors he openly rebelled against Thracor and his serpents. Although they where physicaly superior to any human and had the most destructive of weapons at their disposal, they could not defeat Omron. Since Asguri could not work efficient in the hot climate, the majority of Nawangas populace consisted of Onya of which the majority despised their masters. Almost every city joined his cause, leaving its rulers hopelessly outnumbered. Omron halfbloods army would later become known Ki Malash, the vengeful host. Their story is surrounded by many myths but in the end they managed to free Nawanga and lay siege to Suet itself. Facing off against a horde of Wormborn and Samesi, they slowly fought their way to the central ziggurat. There Omron took on a duel against Thracor himself. The corrupted Ur was not only three times as large as the halfblood general, his dark powers had grown so terrible that he could turn the very air into serpents. It was a long fight but it is said that Omrons burning lance found its way into the Urs spine. With a final scream the Samesi burned to ash and perished from his palace. Poisoned and mortaly wounded, Omron collapsed before his crumbling enemy. With the sacrifice of his life he had freed the Onya from the curse that had plagued them since Nasans delusion. Master of minds Masa Culture The Masas The Hyramu Each Masa is governed by several clans or Hyramu. The origins of these clans is during their rebellion against the Pratonians where general staff formed councils to govern the newly freed cities. Hyramu translates to Warkin, although they have lost their militaristic character in modern times. They used to be bloodlines ruling their cities as nobility, but over time it has become more and more common to adopt worthy Onya into the ranks of a Hyramu. Every family can ascend to the status of such a clan. To do so, a request must be brought fourth to the Masas Kali. ''Should he accept, the priesthood will test the participants in trials of mental and physical strength. In order to ensure the sucess of such an application gifts and bribery have became a necessairy part of the process in the majority of instances. Structure A clan is lead by a ''Hybaba which acts as its voice and representant. Directly under him/her stand up to 12 lords, each of them a possible candidate for place of their superior. They again rule over an infinite amount of Wana or "Highmen". They are concerned with the in-depth organisation of their Hyramu, ''often holding small posts in the goverment of a city. Members Once one is a member of a Hyramu either through birthright or adoption; one has hold up to the customs, rules and philosophies of the clan. Every member is a direct represent of their Hyramu and dishonoring oneself means dishonoring it aswell. For that reason members are under constant pressure of proving ones strength and character. Reputation and fame among the ranks of ones Hyramu is for many as important as is the achievment of inner peace. Every member seeks to embody the concepts and attributes of their clan as best as they. The benefits of such a position are protection, reputation and wealth. Goods are generally shared among a clan depending on the importance of the individual member. Members of a clan are generally seen as noble and above the common man. It is almost impossible to gain fame without belonging to a Hyramu. And the most important aspect is perhabs safety. Attacking the member of a clan means attacking the clan itself. Those who do so will find themselfes in a direct feud against it. Additionaly, members of a clan can not be executed. Should one commit a crime worthy of death, their membership to the clan and all family bounds will be revoked instead. It means keeping ones life, but bringing shame to oneself and ones Hyramu. For that reason every member tries to abide the law as good as possible for more then their own reputation is at stake. Law and punishment Division of the classes Architecture Nawangian architecture is very different from those of other Aniter. Since Nawanga is a land of strong vulcanic activity, earthquakes and eruptions are a very common issue. For this reason structures made from stone would crumble over time and offer little protection. This limits the defensive features in nawangian fortresses and cities. They often raise a diagonal wall of piled of stone bricks and back it up with clay and dirt. Their cities are often raised above ground-level this way, providing artifical hills and increased stability for their structues. They often build reinforced tunnels and bunkers beforce sheathing them with dirt. Their houses, temples and halls are build from timber. They have developed very complex woodworking technologies, creating increadibly suffisticated structures able to support alot of weight and movement during an earthquake. Yet they often include large stoneplates into their design for artistic or religous purpose. The wooden roofs and othen even the walls are clad in vulcanic stone or obsidian. Nawangian craftsman have developed a unique paste they create from mixing oils with the salvia of the Weaverbugs and ash. They apply it pieces of wood to increase their durability, water- and moldresistence. This way their timber stays clean and dry even underwater. This enables their buildings to last far longer then regular wooden structures. Nawangian roofs are structured to funnel rainwater into metal or onyx canals build into the pannels. There is a complex system of tunnels, canals and pipes that lead water into mouts, lakes or simply the surrounding forest of a city. This way the reoccuring monsoons and storms cause minimal damage to the city and do not flood it. Their modern style has been largely influenced by the Xyrillans during their invasion. For that reason, their architecture often takes similar shapes while their older buildings resemble the style of their Suthekru masters. Banners and heraldy Love and marrige Language and scripture The Nawangians use the scripture known as ''Alaruut. ''Although they developed several scriptures of their own in the past, through the growing inportance of global cooperation ''Alaruut usurped them. Although there are a few scholars who can still write them, they are forgotten for the majority of the populace. Alaruut itself is based on the old scripts of the First Cult. According to anitic legends it was invented by the Anit that left the Tutafan desert. Seeing trees and their roots again after such a long time inspired them to create this suffisticated form of writing. Their language is simply known as Nawangian. It is a hypernym for all languages spoken in Nawangia. It includes over 12 major languages aswell as 80 dialects. During the Dark Ages, nawangian simply summarised them. In modern times, these languages became more and more one. The scholar Adisa Shabei created Nawangian as its own language as attempt of unification for his people. He fused Milindi, Askedai and Zosa, the common and simple languages, together. This new language was mainly based on the scripture all of Nawangia shares and can now be understood by the majority of the Onya. The nawangian equivalent to the important anitic expression shin or esh is mu, which translates to kin. Born tradition Views on magic Science and technology Childhood and eduction Entertainment Religion The most important thing a human can achieve according to nawangian believe is inner peace. To attain it, one must find and incorporate a befitting aspect of heavenly architecture. To do so means truly uniting soul and flesh, enabling a pathway into paradise. The nawangian gods dictate all possible aspects a human may embody. Fully doing so will send their soul into the chosen gods respective realm. There they may experience the true meaning of what they seeked their entire life. Those who fail to find such an aspect will no enter such a paradise. Instead, their soul will blindly wander the void, only to be reincarnated into a new body. Only through transcending ones human nature and becoming something godly in oneself, a soul can escape this eternal cicle of unfufillment. Once such an aspect has been chosen one must attempt what is known as Bohala ''which translates to journey in the nawangian tongue. ''Bohala consists of a set of trials which test the will of a aspirant. At the end of these trials stands the realization that free will is something that must be given up in order to achieve inner peace. Although this might not appear desirable, those who finish Bohala will understand its necessity and find the fufillment they always desired. Bohalas challenges will exact everything a aspirant has to offer, challenging them mentally, spiritually and physicaly. To find the light one must experience darkness and pain and understand what is true for their hearts. The strive for a piece of godhood within ones flesh is not an easy one, yet necessairy for those who wish to transcend the boundaries of mortalkind. Those who achieve inner peace have achieved a truth undoubted, something that is absolutly true for oneself. One has become the highest form of existence possible for a thinking being. While mortal beings are tormented by conflict, pain and doubt; a god is not. As long as one is mortal, the gods will test them through their free will, their missleading desires and the countless questions which can never be answered. Through become one with their gods, these things are rendered useless against an aspirant. Where the Haquid fear the absolute meaningless of the universe, the Onya have found many absolute answers which do not contradict each other. It is this spiritual understanding each of them seeks. Gods and their aspects In the original panteon of the Onya there are only (...) gods represent. These are relativly broad interpretations of their respective aspects. There is more then one way of incarnating them as they incarnate so many things associated with their chosen aspect. In modern days all of these gods have been divided into several entites. This happened naturally as the priesthood tried to define their aspects clearer so that incarnating oneself might be easier. The most common explanation for this phenomenom is that these (X) gods have given birth to children. Yet those with a deeper understanding of nawangian lore compare them to shards of their original dieties. These original gods are known as Orikasha, ''while their children are known as ''Karkasha. Orikasha * Ombross- 'The warriorgod Ombross has perhabs the highest regard among all Orikasha. He is seen as the oldest and strongest of the gods, incarnating the struggle for survival of all life the most. To incarnate him one must master their pain, fear and weakness. His followers consist of brave and strong warrior who see every fight as an obstacle send down from their god directly and engage it as such. He is associtated with pride, honor, dominance, strength, violence, agression and reliability. He is portrayed as a Sabanthir with the head of a scarred and bald man. His holy animals are the greatest of ''Golgoloss. * '''Madra- The godess of beauty and fertility. Her aspects are love, elegance, fertility, mildness and compassion. Although often seen as the parteon of women she has many male followers aswell. Those who incarnate her master human desires of almost all kinds, although most followers focus on a single one. Some view her as a godess of superiority, grace and absolute beauty; others as a parental or simply social spirit that teaches love and understanding. She is depicted as a crane with the head of a young women. Her sacred animals are the crowned cranes. * Choloyon- Those that seek wisdom, curiosity and understanding worship Choloyon. There is nothing his eyes cant pierce and nothing his mind can not fathom. Although all nawangian faith is based on the search of answers, Choloyon incarnates the constant search and the desire to understand and obtain knowledge. Often associated with the sea his followers seek abstract forms of worship and understanding. His challenges are mainly spiritual as he plagues humans with doubt and uncertainty. His followers must learn the true purpose of knowledge and what it means to master ones curiosity. He is often depicted as a fish with the head of an old man. His sacred animals are the great lungfishes. * Astronomy Like most Aniter, the Onya ascribe the nightsky great meaning and importance. For them, its mainly a religious connotation rather then a prophetic one. According to nawangian belief, the nightsky resembles the realm of the dead. They see the main bond of stars as the wandering souls lost within the eternal cycle. Greater stars and formations in the void are seen as the distant realms of their gods. Through studying the nightsky, one can gain understanding of their gods; yet the completion of Bohala lies in the obstacles of the mortal world. While the night represents death, the day represent life. Each of the suns has its own meaning, (...) is associated with youth, (...) with strength and (...) with old age. Burial rites Every nawangian city and settlement has a specific region dedicated to its dead. There are many traditions of putting the dead to rest and all involve a gift to nature to complete the natural cycle of life and death. Rather macabre communities add the remains of their people to the wormpits to make nutritious soil from it. Yet the most common form is to have a certain area where the dead are buried with the seed of a nawangian cherry. During festivals and celebrations, the harvest of the ancestors is brought to the feast. These cherries contain the Bornwater of the dead and create a natural cycle of bornexchange that remains stable as long as its properly overwatched. Economy Economic system Currency Infrastructure Trade goods Iron and silver Nawanga contains the largest ore reserves in all of Apophis. Especially iron and silver can be prospect in large quantities. It is said that their mines dig up more metal every year then the kurashic in a decade. Despite these two very common metals they also mine brass and gold although these materials are relativly rare. Diamonds The earth of ebonarm is not only rich with metal but cristalls of all sort. Most prominent are the large diamonds that can be found in the eastern mountains of Masa Ebasa. Its lords believe that their mines contain more diamonds then the forest wood. They sell it to the rest of Nawanga and Apophis for horrendous prices while their own nobility wears in extravagant measure. Black ivory Only in Watamu can the black ivory be harvested. Grown by the mighty Blacktusk elephants, this ressource is perhabs the most expensive tradegood in all of Apophis. It is worth nine times its own weight in gold. So precious is black ivory that soliders cut off the tusks of their warelephants and replace them with wooden or metal constuctions. Despite this Nawanga also trades with regular ivory, although it is regarded far lower. Timber Large forests are rare outside of Nawanga and the dry climate does often not support the growth of large trees. For that reason Nawangians often sell their wood and trees to outlanders. The only contestants on this product are the Esharin of the Greenreed bays. Yet the trees growing there are far smaller and their wood is oft weaker quality. The Onya use the wood of 15 different types of trees for their construction, each serving a different purpose due to their unique structure. The most common is that of the Boabab tree. Nawanga host a unique type of Steeloak which is known as Ebonoak. These trees grow far quicker then their cousins while their wood is of similar quality. Ebonoak is pitchblack and when treated with the right methods, it can become as hard as iron. Animals The beast-tamers of Nawanga are renowned across all of Apophis. They combine strategy, perceptiveness and brutality to force beasts into labour. The Onya often export Mulakai, cattle and Elephants to the rest of Apophis. They might be used as mounts, beasts of burden or weapons of destruction. Both esharic and nawangian courts also keep rare animals like lions, leopards, Sabantir or exotic birds as symbols of power and wealth. It is the dangerous task of the beast-tamers to find and tame these creatures. Agriculture In the dense forests of Nawanga, farming is almost impossible. One needs to cut down large parts of the overgrown forest to build large acres and cultivate plants. Infact, only 15% of the nawangian jungle are open enough to allow larger farms. The second issue with large fields is that the soil is far less nutritious then that of other regions. It mostly relies on the sensitive balance of falling and rotting leaves. Monocultures drain the ground of its nutriens after a few seasons, making it unable to support further plantgrowth. For that reason, most of nawangas food supply is not based on farmers and their fields but on hunters, harvesters and fishers. The majority of its inhabitants live outside the great cities in small villages or Haquid tradition. Since the forest itself is full of food a skilled ranger can harvest, these wildwalkers will spend most of their time hunting or searching for fruits or grains and exchange them for tools they cant craft themselfes on the large markets of the cities. Yet there are glades and even large reagions like the Suthu hearthlands or the east of Watamu that support the eastern style of farming. To solve the issue of the weak soil, nawangians have developed a special soil mixture known as Umabla. It consists of regular dirt, dung, organic waste and mashed coal. Umbala is considered the most nutritious of soils even outside of Nawanga. Almost every nawangian village has special fields where they gather their waste in sepcial worm-pits known as Muflas. Umbala is a valuable trading good not only inside Nawanga but in all of Apophis. The most common grains are millet, wheat and in modern times rice. In most traditional meals they are rarely represent. Most of the traditional dishes consist of meat, eggs and fruits. Nawangians often combine sweet and salty tastes. They gain the majority of their carbohydrates from large fruits and sweet tubers. They have various methods of conserving food in the hot and humid climate. Through salt, sugar and spices they can tripple the durability of their food. Buffalos and Mulakai take to rolls of cows and serve as beasts of burden or mounts. They also provide meat and milk to their owners and are a common sight in the cultivated land. Since most larger cities are build at the nawangian coastline, fish is an important part of their food supply. So rich is the nawangian sea that it could feed all onya on itself. Not only the large quantities of fish and seafood but also the large sealizards and wales that inhabit it provide countless delicacies. The only thing limiting their harvest are the reoccuring storms that destroy and drown most of the ships on open water. Trade routes The dense nawangian jungle is often impenetrable. Is is almost impossible for a foreigner to move across its dark undergrowth without loosing their orientation. Larger groups of travelers will ultimatly get lost in its insides. For that reason, the Nawangians needed to carve large roads into the dense forest, connection their villages and cities. This task proves to be very labour-intensive. Although it provides alot of wood, it takes years to cut down every single tree, creeper and bush. Since the majority of Nawangians rainforests are far to humid to be burned down. Once a section of such a road is complete, the artisans plant a special herb known as Chalcha. It grows extremly quickly and supresses the growth of other plants. Once a road has been finished it will remain for a very long time before the jungle manages to swallow it again. Despite its supressing effects, Chalcha leaves can be eaten by both man and beast. This makes the foodsupply of armies and caravans traveling them far easier. Additionaly they lure in more herbivors who use these open spaces as shelters from the jungles predators who they can easily outrun. Army Unit types Equipment Armor Nawangian armor is regarded the best in all of Apophis. Not only do the Onya have acess to the largest amounts of ore within their lands, they have also mastered the arts of smithing, tempering and bending steel into desired shapes. They produce it in such efficient quantities that almost every solider in their armies is equipped with it. In the humid heat of the nawangian jungles thick and heavy armor is of little use. Wearing plate armor in Aschian fashion would only mean death through overheating in this unforgiving climate. For that reason, nawangian armor is build like a cape. It usually consists of a few pieces which are fixed on the bearer like shoulderplates, helmets and shinguards. Attached onto these are scale-like metal plates which are connected through small rings. They cover almost the entire body, yet do not limit the bearers movement or savour the heat of their bodies. The major downside to this technique is that these metal drapes can be lifted or expose the bearer during critial movements. Although the drapes are often fixed by threads to avoid too much movements it takes alot of training to use this form of armor appropriately. There are many types of armor worn by Onya soliders. Underneath their armor they often wear a very thin coat of cloth or nothing at all to improve the temperature flow. Since most warriors bear large shields they do not need to cover their entire body in heavy armor. Many only protect their most vunerable areas to increase their agility. Yet for those that prefer more protection there have developed four prominent types of armor: Ngan scale armor- 'or the ''"Armor of Kings". It is by far the most protective armor worn by Onya warriors and the most expensive. It consists of 8 hardend steelrings which are placed from the chest down to the hip. Inbetween are several tempered steelbars that keep them in place aswell as hardened leatherstribes. Attached to each of these rings is a long drape of steelrings and small metal plates. They overlap each other to decreate the chances of being bypassed. Arms end legs are protected by leather and metal plates. '''Shaldi armor- '''is perhabs the most prominent among high guards. It consists of two large fan-shaped shoulderplates in esharic style. Onto the right side holding a weapon is attached a long drape of metal scales. The left side has an eqivalent on the warriors back but leaves the side and front open as they are protected by a shield. '''Galgi armor- represents a cheap equivlant to the Shaldi armor. Instead of metal its plates are made from hardened ''Ebonoak. ''Attached onto them are long drapes made from several layers of linen. Inside are tiny pockets which are filled with small plates made from hardened wood. Exposed parts are often completed by patted armor build in a similar fashion. There exist variants made from leather or the scales of Ezaman. '''Hrun cloaks- '''is not an armor itself but an attachment to any of the types listed above. Its attached to the bearers back and used as a protection against missile fire, especially during sieges. It was made from cloth, wood and metal. It mainly consisted of a flexible framework of flexible wood connected with metal, forming a large ball. The cloth strips are sewed together to form sort of bag which is filled with air like a balloon. Nawangian armor is often decorated with pelts and fur. Most favoured are those of lions or leopards. Others might choose feathers or the scaly skin of one of the great lizards inhabiting the forest. Despite the many ornaments engraved into their armor wealthy Onya often work onyx, obsidian, ivory or diamonds into it. Tactics Virtues of war Famous battles Views On Nawangians On the others Category:Lore Category:Humans Category:Apophis